01512nas a2200193   4500008004100000020001400041245006800055210006800123260001400191300001200205490000700217520097200224653001101196653001601207653001901223653001501242100001901257856004201276       2006                        eng d  a0013-874600aComplete excavation and mapping of a Texas leafcutting ant nest0 aComplete excavation and mapping of a Texas leafcutting ant nest  cSeptember  a891-8970 v993 aA medium-sized nest of the Texas leafcutting ant, Atta texana (Buckley), in northern Louisiana was excavated completely, and a three-dimensional model of its external and subterranean features was constructed. In total, 97 fungus gardens, 27 dormancy cavities, and 45 detritus cavities were located. At the lower center of the funnel-shaped nest was a large central cavity, which in winter functions as a domicile for the colony and where the alate brood is reared. Vertical tunnels, possibly as deep as 32 in, may serve as wells leading to the water table. Winter mean annual temperatures within the central cavity may limit the northern geographical range of A. texana to [approximately equal]33[degree] N latitude. The inquilines Attaphila fungicola Wheeler, Pholeomyia comans Sabrosky, Ceuthophilm sp., Lobopoda subcuneatus Campbell, Geomysaprinus nr. formicus (Hinton), species of Aleocharinae, and a species of Annelida were seen in nest cavities and galleries.10acomans10aMilichiidae10amyrmekophilous10aPholeomyia1 aMoser, John, C  u<Go to ISI>://ZOOREC:ZOOR14304020788 